Under Weathered--A TFP Story
by BBPRIMEFAN101
Summary: When Optimus Prime falls sick with a common human virus, leaving Ratchet, Bulkhead and the human children to tend to him, Arcee, Lily and Bumblebee head out on a mission of their own to stop Starscream and half the Decepticon armada from sinking an oil rig. But things go awry when Optimus disobeys Ratchet's orders and gets captured, but he may not need the team to rescue him.
1. Chapter 1

"**Under Weathered"—A TFP Story**

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**Summary: When Optimus Prime falls sick with a common human virus, Arcee, Lily and Bumblebee head out on a mission of their own to stop Starscream and half the Decepticon armada from sinking an oil rig. But things go awry when Optimus disobeys Ratchet's orders and gets captured, but he may not need the team to rescue him.**

**Transformers © Hasbro**

**Lily and Kylie © Me**

* * *

It probably doesn't need saying, but the Decepticons were at it again. They were after one of the few largest untapped Energon deposits—sitting at the bottom of a frozen sea in the bitter Arctic. Starscream led his Seekers towards its location, and Team Prime was racing right behind them with Optimus Prime leading them through the blizzard.

"Ugh, this snow is so thick I can't see past my own bumper!" exclaimed Bulkhead.

"You're complaining?! At least you can _transform_!" Lily shouted over the wind. "And this icy wind is throwing off my hover-board!"

"They have a right to complain, Optimus," Ratchet said via the COM-link. "Your core temperatures are approaching the blue zone at a casual rate. You know to retreat once your alarms go off?"

"Understood, Ratchet. Hang in there, everyone," Optimus said. "We almost have them in our sights!"

A blaster suddenly struck Lily from behind, knocking her over and skidding across the ice. "No! _We_ have _you_ in _our_ sights!" The Autobots all stopped and transformed to see Starscream and a few Seekers fly over their heads then transform only a few yards in front of them. Optimus helped Lily get to her feet and they all pointed their blasters at the Decepticons blocking their path to the Energon deposit.

"I believe the human term is, 'You want it? You will have to go through us'," Starscream sneered.

"Not a problem with me!" Lily glared and snapped hatefully, but Optimus held her back.

"Surrender, Starscream, hand over the Energon, and you will be spared," he ordered.

The Decepticon's 1st Lieutenant laughed. "You must be joking! I'll never surrender to _you_, Optimus Prime! Seekers, destroy them!" At Starscream's order, the Seekers beside him charged up their blasters and fired while Starscream headed off where the rest of the Seekers were excavating the frozen Energon deposit.

Lily was about to go after him herself but Optimus told her to stay. "I will handle Starscream! You and the others keep the Seekers off of me!" Lily reluctantly agreed to his terms and watched her father take off after the lean, heeled Decepticon.

While Bulkhead, Arcee, Bumblebee, and Lily handled the Seekers, Optimus charged after Starscream, transforming into his vehicle mode. He managed to ram the nose of the truck into him, but it didn't run him down. Starscream quickly jumped off and transformed into his jet-form, taking off into the snowy wind. The snow was too thick; Optimus transformed back into his biped form, unable to see where he had gone.

Then blasters suddenly appeared from the snow blizzard, directly at Optimus. The Prime managed to barely avoid them and looked up to see Starscream flying low and continuing to fire. He circled above Prime's head, blasting numerous shots near him, but not directly at him. While Optimus pondered, he suddenly felt the ice beneath his feet starting to give, and water began to trickle through the cracks. Before he could move, the ice broke, and Optimus plunged into the icy sea.

Starscream laughed. "Have a nice swim, Prime!"

Lily glanced over and saw Starscream hovering over the ice, and Optimus was nowhere to be seen. "Father!" she cried, and the others followed her gaze to see their leader missing. Lily angrily fired at Starscream, striking one of his wings, causing him to spiral out of control and crash into the ice.

Starscream groaned angrily and wearily looked up to see Team Prime charging straight for him. "Decepticons! Scavenge what Energon you have and retreat!" He then contacted the warship for an emergency ground-bridge; once one appeared, he and his Seekers jumped through it with whatever amount of Energon they managed to take.

Once the bridge closed, the team raced over to the watering hole in the ice. "Optimus!" they cried, yet neither heard nor saw a response.

Then they felt heavy pounding under the ice, coming from the shore. As they followed the vibrations, the shallow ice shattered as a massive fist broke through it, and out popped a violently shivering Prime—toting a large amount of the Energon Starscream and his Seekers tried to pillage.

"Father!" Lily exclaimed as she and Bumblebee and ran to him; while she scanned him to see if any internal damage had already been done, Bumblebee took the Energon into his own hands so Prime wouldn't have to carry it.

"Arcee to base. Ratchet, we need a bridge to Jasper's desert," Arcee explained as calmly as she could. "And fast! Optimus is in danger of freezing up completely!"

"Understood!" Ratchet replied, and within seconds a bridge appeared for them.

"Come on!" Bulkhead yelled over the wind as they helped the quickly-frosting Prime through the bridge out of the deadly blizzard and into the blaring heat of the sun.

"Lay him down!" Arcee said, and they slowly laid him down so his body could thaw. After a while, the sun's heat melted away the nearly-frozen Prime, but his core temperature was still freezing, causing him to continue shivering. "Easy, Optimus," Arcee said, placing a hand on his shoulder. He was thawed, but still cold to the touch.

"I-I-I...am alr-r-right," Optimus stuttered, his speech being affected from the shivers. They stayed out in the baking heat for another 5 minutes, waiting for Optimus to cease shivering, before requesting a bridge to base. They all couldn't help but crack a smile when they heard their leader sigh of relief as the Earth's sun warmed up his body. Once they arrived, Ratchet immediately began connecting tubes to his body, trying to thaw out the rest of his systems.

"You took a major risk trying to salvage that Energon, Prime," the medic said, looking to the massive fragment Optimus carried out of the frozen water. "You nearly froze every system in your chassis. I am surprised you didn't freeze up when you were underwater that long."

"That's why he's Prime," said Lily, smiling as she held one of her father's hands. "He can take on just about anything!"

"Yes, but it doesn't mean he's invulnerable."

"Ratchet, I am fine," Optimus assured him, trying to stand up, but Ratchet stopped him and forced him back onto the medical berth.

"You say so, now, but for all we know, the bits of your body that the sun's heat couldn't reach could still be consumed in ice," Ratchet informed him.

"Is his core temperature stabilized?" asked Bulkhead.

Ratchet checked the monitor that revealed Prime's vitals. "Yes, but—"

"Then he should be fine, right?"

"Yes, but—"

"But, what?"

"There could be things wrong that we haven't checked yet, that's _what_, Bulkhead!" Ratchet exclaimed.

Optimus sighed and stood up, disconnecting the tubes attached to his body. "I feel fine, Ratchet. You need not worry. I will report to you the second I feel something isn't right."

Ratchet grumbled to himself before replying, "Very well. But you need to get some rest. Doc's orders."

Optimus gave a nod and headed off towards his quarters, unaware of the worried looks on his teammates' faces, laying down on his berth and instantly slipping into recharge.

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**End of part 1... **


	2. Chapter 2

"**Under Weathered"—A TFP Story**

* * *

**Summary: When Optimus Prime falls sick with a common human virus, leaving Ratchet, Bulkhead and the human children to tend to him, Arcee, Lily and Bumblebee head out on a mission of their own to stop Starscream and half the Decepticon armada from sinking an oil rig. But things go awry when Optimus disobeys Ratchet's orders and gets captured, but he may not need the team to rescue him.**

* * *

**Transformers © Hasbro**

**Lily and Kylie © Me**

**(I know, this chapter is super short. I couldn't think of anything else!)**

* * *

"YOU HAVE FAILED ME AGAIN!" Megatron roared as he roughly backhanded Starscream.

The Decepticons' 1st Lieutenant struggled to keep his footing as he spiraled backwards, yelling in pain from the strike. "But, Lord Megatron-!" He was silenced as the furious warlord grabbed him by his face.

"I give the easiest task possible, and you couldn't even accomplish that!"

Starscream staggered backwards and tried to regain his balance. "Um...i-n my defense, Lord Megatron, collecting Energon is not the _easiest_ task possible, but—"

"SHUT IT!" Megatron bellowed as he kicked and pressed him into the floor with his foot. "Our Energon levels are at a critical low, and since our ship is unable to go airborne, we have no means in collecting any more of it!"

Starscream groaned under his master's weight. "Then why don't we try and find a different fuel source?!"

"Such as...?" Megatron said.

"I don't know! Soundwave, search up all of this rock's natural sources of energy," Starscream ordered. Soundwave did so and multiple files appeared on the monitor. One of them displayed a large plantation sitting in the middle of the ocean, and another showed a mine filled with red crystals.

Megatron released Starscream and read one of the files. "The ruby crystals of Burma." He pondered for a moment. "Intriguing, I must say. Whoever knew that this rock could have other means of obtaining energy? With enough of these crystals, we will be able to reactivate the ship, and resume with our plans to eradicate the Autobots and conquer this planet!"

"You're welcome," Starscream muttered, hugging the wound of his clipped wing, and left the control center grumbling.


	3. Chapter 3

"**Under Weathered"—A TFP Story**

* * *

**Summary: When Optimus Prime falls sick with a common human virus, leaving Ratchet, Bulkhead and the human children to tend to him, Arcee, Lily and Bumblebee head out on a mission of their own to stop Starscream and half the Decepticon armada from sinking an oil rig. But things go awry when Optimus disobeys Ratchet's orders and gets captured, but he may not need the team to rescue him.**

**Transformers © Hasbro**

**Lily and Kylie © Me**

**(hoooo boy. This is where my fetish begins. I am normally a bit shy in writing this kind of stuff, but I know I gotta do it. Please do not hate me or think me weird for what I may do. And no flames, please)**

* * *

Chapter 3

The following morning, Optimus still felt very exhausted when he emerged from recharge. He had gotten plenty of rest like he told his teammates. So why did he feel like he hadn't slept at all? Groggily, he sat up groaning, and right away he sensed something off. He couldn't explain it. It just didn't...feel right. As he took a deep breath in, he noticed it took him a while to do so and an irritable itch buzzed throughout his airways. As he looked around, the light hurt his optics a little, and it was a dim light. He noticed a faint, funny taste in the back of his throat, and when he tried to stand up, it was as though something was forcing him to sit back down. Groaning, he pushed himself onto his feet and wearily rubbed his eyes. He suddenly felt a tickle in his throat and he unintentionally coughed into his hand—and looked down to see a think, Energon-blue slime covering some of his palm. Bewildered by this, but not wanting to worry his friends, he merely wiped it away, ignored the stuffiness in his chest and headed out to join the rest of the members of Team Prime.

Ratchet, Bulkhead, Bumblebee, Arcee and Lily were all conversing in the control center before Optimus entered. "How do you mean, funny, Lily?" Ratchet asked the youngest Autobot.

"I mean, I woke up feeling funny in my spark, but the rest of me is fine," Lily explained.

Ratchet scanned her. "Your vitals are perfectly normal," he confirmed. "There shouldn't be anything wrong with you."

"I know. That's what I'm worried about."

Then they noticed their leader enter. "Good morning, Optimus," said Ratchet.

"Good morning, Ratchet," Optimus replied with a faint smile.

"_How are you feeling, sir?" _Bumblebee bleeped.

"I am fine, Bumblebee. Thank you for asking."

"You're up late," Arcee pointed out.

Optimus let out a chuckle. "Yes, I know. I must have recharged a little longer than intended. I never knew I was so exhausted."

"Well, nearly freezing yourself will do that to you," Bulkhead chuckled.

"Are you alright, Papa?" Lily asked.

Optimus glanced down at her to reply, but he stopped when he noticed the suspicious look on her face. He knew that look too well. It meant she knew something. He did his best to hide it. "Yes, I am fine, Lily. Why do you ask?"

Lily shrugged. "Don't know. You just sound kind of...nasally, this morning. And I woke up with an odd feeling in my spark."

"Did you?" Prime raised an optic ridge to show his own suspicion, but the expression on Lily's face was much dominant than his own. He sighed, and doing so, a tickle crept in his throat again. He fought a cough and told his Autobots, "I assure you all, I am fine. If something was wrong, I would've gone to Ratchet like I said I would last night."

The others kept their gazes on him, making him feel uneasy. That, or it was being on his feet too long. He felt the Energon slime dripping in the back of his throat and he felt disgusted to swallow it. The itch in his airways grew a little more, and he covered his sudden huff with another sigh and stared at the floor.

"Prime!"

The Autobots all turned towards the monitor to see Special Agent William Fowler appear on the screen. "What is it, Agent Fowler?" Optimus asked.

Before he could reply, Fowler backtracked and blinked a few times. "Whoa, Prime, what's up with your voice? You got a bug or something?"

"No, Agent Fowler, I have not. I am still recovering after being exposed to freezing temperatures in Arctic waters. Now, why have you contacted us?"

"What do you think? The Cons are up to something—on the other side of the globe!" Fowler pulled up an image of a large mine with several carts filled with red glowing crystals. "They've hit the ruby crystal mines of Burma."

"Why would they be searching for that and not Energon?" asked Arcee.

"Because we keep taking it," Lily replied with a proud grin.

"But if they suck that mine dry, the citizens of Burma won't be able to use the crystals to trade for money and buy food," explained Fowler. "They will all starve!"

Optimus gave his head a nod, and regretted it instantly as a slight ache surged through his mind-processor, but he dared not let his pain show. "Understood, Agent Fowler. Ratchet, lock onto the coordinates and activate the ground-bridge."

Ratchet locked in the same coordinates to Decepticons used and pulled the lever, activating the ground bridge.

Optimus was normally capable of staring directly into the swirling vortex as the sudden flash of light appeared, but today, the brightness stung his optics; he blinked rapidly and let out a very faint groan, fighting the urge to look away and shield his eyes. He only hoped to Primus that none of his Autobots noticed. And for an odd reason, the light of the ground-bridge urged the tingly itch in his airways even more, but he managed to keep it down for now.

"Autobots, roll out!" Prime exclaimed in his 'nasally voice', and they all (except Ratchet, of course) raced through the ground-bridge. On the other side, they landed in the middle of a wet grassland with surrounding mountains and forests. The mountain peaks vanished in the fog, and despite the humid air, a chilling wind blow through, cold enough to make even the Autobots shiver a little.

Optimus had to fight a shiver that attempted to rattle his body. The humidity was not helping with his growing mind processor-ache; his forehead was beginning to condensate, and his breathing became deeper and heavier. He wanted to retract his battle mask so he could breathe just a little easier, but he was afraid his teammates and daughter would notice the flush he felt spreading across his cheek plates. With each warm breath of air he sucked in, the thick Energon-slime collecting in his throat loosened and dripped, filling his mouth. He felt sick to swallow it, but he had no choice. The tingling grew in his airways, causing him to slightly huff; he held his breath until the tingle died down before turning towards his Autobots. "Proceed with caution," he said as clearly as he could. They all morphed their servos into their weapons and approached the mountainside, where a path had already been dug in by the humans. They transformed into their vehicle modes, while Lily activated her hover-board, and they drive through the tunnel, in search for Megatron and the Decepticons.

The further they drove, the colder and damper the mine became. Chilling to the others, but irritable to Optimus. As he took in the cold air, it only urged his need to cough even more, and the itching, tingling feeling suddenly returned in his airways.

Optimus suddenly jolted to a halt, and the others screeched to a stop so they wouldn't crash; but they slammed on their brakes too late, and they began to pile up and ram each other. Groaning and grumbling, they all transformed into their biped modes and helped each other get to their feet.

"Is everyone alright?" Optimus asked.

"We're good," said Bulkhead, rubbing his helm.

"Why'd you suddenly slam on the brakes?" Lily asked, resting a hand on her hip.

"Apologies. I believe the dampness of this mine is affecting my circuitry a little," Optimus said, hoping they wouldn't sniff out the lie and comment on the loud exhalation he had released.

"You almost sounded like you were in pain. And I've never heard of damp air doing that."

"Never mind it, anyhow. We must return to our mission." Optimus then turned away from his teammates and headed down the tunnel. The other Autobots gave one another quick glances of suspicion and concern, but they kept their thoughts to themselves and followed Optimus further into the mine.

* * *

Megatron stood at the top of the cavern where a few Decepticons loaded more crystals into large cube-shaped containers, placed them into a pile and transported them onto the warship. As expected, he could hear the sound of blasters echoing throughout the mine. He grinned; his opponents had arrived.

"Megatron!"

The tyrant glared down to see the Autobots run into the cavern. Optimus pointed his blade towards him and glared. "Surrender...and leave this mine! If you rob these crystals of the townspeople, they will all perish!"

Megatron chuckled. "What makes you think I care about the fleshlings, Prime? And I must ask, what is the matter with your voice? You sound like you are speaking through water!" He began guffawing, and Optimus glared while mentally rolling his eyes. "But enough of that," said Megatron. "Decepticons, take care of the Autobots! I will handle Optimus Prime myself." The Decepticons did as their leader commanded jumped down and dealt with Bulkhead, Bumblebee, Arcee, and Lily, while Megatron and Optimus dueled in another part of the cavern."What's the matter, Prime? You seem a little slower today," Megatron mocked.

Optimus was, in fact, fighting much slower than he used to. With every swing he threw, Optimus felt like he was lifting a Dinobot with one hand. The congestion in his airways was making it difficult for him to breathe, and his intakes itched like crazy! He fought a cough as the fight went on, yet all the movement was making him dizzy; or was it the hot flashes he felt surge through his body. His mind-processor ached like mad, and the tingle had inched its way up his throat and buzzed in his head. Now distracted and groaning agitatedly, Megatron laid one on him, and he went flying across the cavern, and even smashed through the wall.

"Father!" Lily cried as she and the Autobots raced out of the cavern through the new hole, not caring if the Cons were behind them.

Optimus struggled to get to his knees. He shivered as the cool breeze swept over him and swayed the wet grass along his body, tickling him a little. But the humidity was still there. Unable to breathe, he retracted his battle mask and wearily got to his feet.

"Well, well. You are not much of a fight today, are you, Prime?" Megatron sneered as he kicked Optimus back. The Prime stumbled a little before regaining his footing. He noticed Megatron swinging his blade down upon him, so he blocked and held it back with what strength his aching body provided. They both shoved each other back and drew closer together, glaring.

Another chilling gust of wind blew through, washing droplets onto the both of them. Megatron paid no mind to them—but to Optimus, they irritated them like the feeling of a lost strand of hair sitting somewhere on a human. Some droplets settled on his air vents; in his current position, he couldn't wipe them away. The feeling of the cold droplets sliding down the opening and into the vent, slowly creeping along...it tickled beyond belief. The tingling was overwhelming, and out of Optimus's control.

"_Hah...haah...Hack'shuuh!_"

_*SPLAT! CLANG!*_

The Autobots and Decepticons all stood there in shock, and a bit of disgust, as Energon flew from Optimus's mouth and splattered all over Megatron's face plate. That, and their helms collided with a CLANG! Megatron stumbled back a little, slightly dazed by the hit, then he fell onto his back and laid there, knocked out. Even Optimus stood there baffled at what just happened.

The Decepticons raced over towards their leader and helped him to his feet. "Soundwave, requesting a bridge!" A ground-bridge appeared and a few of the Cons toted Megatron through. "This isn't over, Autobots!" yelled the same Con before heading through the bridge as it closed.

Optimus sighed as he wiped away a dribble of Energon from his mouth, then he coughed. Oh, it felt good to get that tickle out of his throat! But he could feel the glares of his teammates and cautiously faced them.

They could see he was beginning to feel miserable. It was official.

It was time to head back to base.

And face the medic's wrath.

* * *

**Prime is SO busted! Now he has to answer to Ratchet.**


	4. Chapter 4

"**Under Weathered"—A TFP Story**

* * *

**Summary: When Optimus Prime falls sick with a common human virus, leaving Ratchet, Bulkhead and the human children to tend to him, Arcee, Lily and Bumblebee head out on a mission of their own to stop Starscream and half the Decepticon armada from sinking an oil rig. But things go awry when Optimus disobeys Ratchet's orders and gets captured, but he may not need the team to rescue him.**

**Transformers © Hasbro**

**Lily and Kylie © Me**

**(no flames, please)**

* * *

Chapter 4

"So...what exactly happened?" Starscream asked the line of Decepticons while the medic team tended to Megatron, who was still unconscious.

"Megatron and Optimus Prime were fighting, when suddenly, Optimus did...something, and Energon went all over Megatron's face," explained one Con.

"And they clashed heads," added another. "It was a loud bang! It must've been a heavy hit to knock out even _Megatron_."

"Indeed," Starscream murmured. "And when Optimus...ejected Energon onto Megatron...you mean, he purged?"

"No, no, not like that," said a third Decepticon. "Something else. And we all noticed the Prime was fighting much slower than he used to."

Starscream raised an optic ridge. "Hmm. That is rather strange. But the Prime defeated Megatron, nonetheless. But onto more concerning matters. Due to the Autobots' interference, we've only gathered enough ruby crystals to power up one of the ship's engines. We must rely upon another natural source of energy."

Soundwave then pulled up the second file from earlier. Starscream read it aloud. "_The Berkut oil rig off of the Russian Pacific coast...the largest oil rig in the world up to date_...Well, humans use this oil to get around in their vehicles, as well for medicine and other things. But now, the _Berkut_ belongs to us..."

In the sickbay, Megatron finally came back online.

"Rise and shine," said Knock Out. "You took a pretty nasty hit, my liege. But the good news is, minimal damage had been done. But I recommend you stay on that berth for the remainder of the day just to be safe."

Megatron slowly arose from the berth, rubbing the sore spot on his helm. "How long was I out?"

"Only a few hours."

"It feels much longer," the tyrant moaned as he sat upright. "And what was it Optimus...sprayed me with?"

"You mean this?" Knock Out held up a container of the thick Energon-slime and Megatron nodded. "I do not quite know yet, Lord Megatron, but after taking a peek under the microscope, I've noticed very microscopic things within the sludge."

"You mean, a virus?" Megatron asked.

"Possibly, but I will not know until further study," Knock Out explained.

"Make haste, then." Megatron rubbed his temple. "I am beginning to believe that this processor-ache is not from the 'head-on' collision alone."

* * *

As they stepped through the ground-bridge, Bulkhead helped lug Optimus through, just in case the Prime decided to face-plant. All the way through, the sound of the swirling portal caused Optimus's mind processor-ache to grow, and he moaned agitatedly. Things couldn't get any worse.

Optimus stood corrected, for when they arrived back at base, a fuming Ratchet awaited them. The human children were present, as well. _Oh, slag,_ he thought. _They must see me like this, too?! _The medic angrily pointed to the berth in their sickbay. "Sit. Now." Optimus had no chance of standing against Ratchet at that moment, so he obeyed without saying a word, only a weary groan as he sat down.

"Optimus, are you alright?" asked Jack as they all glanced up at the leader of the Autobots with concern.

"You look like you had way too many shots," Miko joked and Kylie nudged her.

Optimus sighed. "I am alright, Jack," he said.

"Really? You sound like you've got something stuck in your throat," said Miko.

"What. Happened?" Ratchet spoke slowly, angrily.

"We don't really know ourselves," said Bulkhead.

"Megatron and Optimus were fighting when suddenly Optimus..." started Arcee.

While they were talking, the irritable tingly feeling returned in Prime's air vents. "_Hack'shoo!" _The loud noise made the human children jump out of their skins. They all then stared at him as he wiped his mouth and gruffly sniffled.

Arcee sighed. "...Did that."

"Gesundheit," Lily said with a giggle.

Ratchet examined Optimus and let out an angry sigh. He looked terrible. "This is no doubt the result of your little swim in the Arctic, Optimus. You knew something was wrong and you didn't tell us?!"

Optimus winced at the raised tone. "Easy, Ratchet. My head hurts enough already."

"Yeah, well, it's only going to get worse," Lily remarked. Then they all stared at her. "What?"

"You know of this?" said Ratchet.

"What do you mean?"

"You know what's wrong with Optimus?"

"Well, this morning, I didn't," Lily said as she approached her adopted father, "but just by looking at him, I do now. He's got a cold, or something like it."

"WHAT?!" went the Autobots.

"Relax! It's not going to kill him," Lily explained. "Believe me, I know. I used to get colds all the time when I was human. They suck, but they're definitely not fatal."

"You are certain of this?" asked Ratchet.

Lily frowned. "Did you not just hear me say I used to get colds all the time as a human?"

"Lily's right," said Rafael. "Colds are the most common virus to affect humans, but they can't kill you."

"What are the symptoms?"

"Fevers are rare, but it's mainly runny nose, congestion, coughing, and sneezing."

Lily glanced up at Optimus. "By the looks of it, I'm sure he's got all of them."

"Well, I still need to finish examining him to see just how bad this really is." Ratchet then morphed his servo into a light pointer. "Open up, Optimus," he said. "I need to see how much 'congestion' is built up in your systems." Optimus seemed as bit reluctant and embarrassed to because the humans were right next to Ratchet, but he knew he was in no position to go against Ratchet's orders. He slowly opened his mouth as wide as he could, allowing Ratchet to peer into his throat, shining the light all around. He could clearly large clumps of Energon-slime forming in his throat and along the inner walls of his mouth. "Hmm, yes. There are traces of Energon-sludge within your systems, but it doesn't appear too serious right now."

"_Energon-sludge_?" said Raf.

"I guess that's like snot for us," Miko whispered.

Out of nowhere, Prime had that tingling feeling in his air vents again. _**"...HAA'kshuuh!" **_

They all stared in shock, but not as shocked as Optimus Prime. He was horrified at the sight of the Energon-sludge that had flown from his mouth when he sneezed—splattered all over Ratchet. "R-Ratchet...!" Optimus stammered, blushing madly. "I-I sincerely apologize! I did not mean to...I was..._Ohhh_..." Completely embarrassed, he hid his face in his hands and hunched over.

Miko laughed. "Ratchet just got sprayed!" Kylie nudged her again and pointed Optimus, glaring. Miko then stopped laughing when she saw the humiliation written across his face, even though he was hidden in his hands.

Lily felt sorry for Optimus and went to him, patting his arm. "It's okay, Papa. It happens."

Ratchet wiped away the sludge and washed his face with a rag. "Well, I'll tell you this, that _this _has most definitely never happened before!"

"You're kidding," said Jack. "You guys don't ever get sick?"

"_We do, but on very rare occasions," _Bumblebee bleeped.

"Bee's right," said Arcee. "We don't really have the kind of viruses on Cybertron as you do here on Earth, but any Cybertronian is vulnerable to any kind of virus; computer, or otherwise." To emphasize her point, Optimus abruptly went into a coughing fit.

When he was finished, a puddle of sludge sat in the palm of his hand. "Ughh..." He felt so disgusted in himself that he couldn't even bear to look at it.

"Yeah, it's best if you don't cough or sneeze into your hands, Father," said Lily.

Optimus wiped his mouth with his clean hand while he gruffly sniffled. "Then...what am I supposed to cough or sneeze into?"

Lily looked up to Ratchet. "Uncle Ratchet, you wouldn't happen to have any Autobot-sized tissues, would you?"

"Of course, not!" Ratchet said.

"Wow. You have everything BUT tissues? What kind of medic are you?" Miko scoffed. Ratchet scowled but Miko paid no mind to it.

"I've got a bunch of old blankets back at home," said Rafael. "I could bring them here and use those as tissues."

"Thank you Ra..._Hack'shuh!_...Rafael," Optimus sneezed and sniffled.

"Prime!" came Agent Fowler's voice.

Optimus was ready to get up and answer the call when Ratchet forced him to stay down and the others raced over. "What is it, Fowler?" asked Arcee.

"Where's Prime?" Fowler asked.

"Uh...well, my father is..." Lily began.

"_HAA'schuuh!"_

"...currently unavailable," Lily finished.

"Wait...you mean, he's _sick_?" Fowler asked with a baffled look on his face.

"Something like that," Bulkhead mumbled.

Fowler couldn't help but laugh. "What's he got this time? Cyber-flu, or a fuel tank bug?"

"A cold," Lily simply said.

A look on Fowler's face that said 'I'm stupid' was his only reply.

"What's the problem this time?" said Raf.

"The Cons are up to no good again, only this time, further east," Fowler explained, and he pulled up an image of a large oil rig on the water.

"The _Berkut _oil rig off the Russian Pacific coast," Raf said after examining the picture.

"_What's that?"_ Bumblebee bleeped.

"So far, the world's largest oil rig."

"But what would the Cons want with our oil?" asked Miko.

"The same reason they pillaged the mines of Burma," said Arcee. "An alternate energy source while Energon is running low."

"And if they destroy that rig, it will cause an oil spill that will consume the entire northern Pacific!" Fowler exclaimed.

"We cannot allow that to happen," Optimus said as he stood up with a sniffle. "Autobots...transform and..._Haa'tchooo!" _It was a sneeze powerful enough to shake the ceiling lights, and shift a few objects around. Prime groaned and rubbed his head, at least thankful that no sludge was ejected from his mouth.

"And, nothing," said Lily, pointing at the berth. "You are going to sit in that berth until you get better!"

"But—"

"I agree with Lily, Optimus," said Ratchet. "You are in no condition to fight. It's best if you remain here and rest." Optimus searched for a way to defend himself, but coming up with nothing, he sat back down on the berth in defeat.

"We'll be fine, Papa," Lily said and kissed his flushing cheek plate. "Ooh, you're getting warm. Best if you don't move around so much and stay in bed."

Ratchet activated the bridge once he locked in the coordinates of the oil rig. "Bulkhead, I'd like you to remain here."

The wrecker turned to Ratchet while Lily, Arcee and Bumblebee raced through. "Why me?"

"I'll need you to catch him in case he decides to face plant." Ratchet looked down to the human children. "And lacking the knowledge on how to deal with a 'cold', I may need some tips from the four of you."

"No problem," said Raf. "Just keep him warm and give him plenty of fluids."

"Yeah! You got any soup?" Miko said.

"Soup?" Ratchet raised an optic ridge.

"...Okay. Any large blankets?" asked Jack.

"You really think they'd make blankets for a super large robot?" Miko scoffed.

"You thought they had tissues!"

Kylie tugged on Rafael's sleeve and pointed to the monitor. "Good thinking, Kyles. We could ask Fowler to loan a parachute for Optimus to use as a blanket."

"...You got all that just by reading her eyes?" Miko said.

Kylie faintly giggled with a soft shrug.

* * *

**yep, some quiet people do have a lot to say ^^ hopefully, you guys are anxious to know what happens next? QuQ  
**


	5. Chapter 5

"**Under Weathered"—A TFP Story**

* * *

**Summary: When Optimus Prime falls sick with a common human virus, leaving Ratchet, Bulkhead and the human children to tend to him, Arcee, Lily and Bumblebee head out on a mission of their own to stop Starscream and half the Decepticon armada from sinking an oil rig. But things go awry when Optimus disobeys Ratchet's orders and gets captured, but he may not need the team to rescue him.**

**Transformers © Hasbro**

**Lily and Kylie © Me**

**(no flames, pretty please. If you don't like, THEN DON'T READ)**

* * *

Chapter 5

A ground-bridge opened on the shores of Russia near a large shipping dock. Starscream and a few Seekers stepped through and remained hidden behind nearby trees so no humans were aware of their existence—at least, not yet.

Starscream peered through the branches and watched numerous workers board a transport ship. "That vessel must be heading to the oil rig," he said. "We must get aboard without being discovered."

"Permit me, Commander Starscream," said one of the Seekers with him, "if we are trying to get to the oil rig, why didn't we just bridge ourselves there?"

"Because then we would have been spotted and security would wreak havoc upon us, and our plans will be foiled," Starscream growled. "We need to get aboard that vessel so we can sneak onto the oil rig and take control from there. And once we have seized control, we will call in the rest of our armada and take the oil all for ourselves!"

"I honestly do not see the difference," another Seeker said.

"I do. I did a little research on the Russians before we headed out. They are quite handy with their armory." A fog horn rang out. "Quickly, we must board!"

~5 minutes later~

The Autobots' ground bridge opened, and Arcee, Bumblebee and Lily jumped out, landing on the wet shoreline. Lily glanced out at sea and saw the distant lights of a ship. "Aw, we missed the ferry!"

"And I have a feeling the Decepticons are aboard that one," Arcee said and Bumblebee whirred in agreement. "There's got to be another way for us to get to the _Berkut._"

"How? We gonna ride our way over to it?"

"You got any better ideas, Bumblebee?" The scout shrugged. "Alright, then. Lily, do you know when's the next ferry?"

"It takes about an hour to get to the oil rig, and just as long getting back. We'd never make it, and the Decepticons would have already won," Lily explained with a groan.

"Great," Arcee grunted. "We could really use Optimus right now."

"We are _not _getting him involved in this," Lily said. "He needs to stay back at base and rest."

"I know, I know."

Bumblebee let out a clicking chuckle. _"I wonder how he's doing. He's probably enjoying not having to get out and fight."_

Lily rested a hand over her spark and slightly frowned. "I don't know why, Bumblebee, but I doubt that."

* * *

"_Ahh'chooo!"_

Optimus sneezed for the twelfth time within the last three minutes. He shivered under the parachute that Agent Fowler loaned the Autobots. It wasn't the best insulator, but it was definitely better than nothing. He could feel his mouth slowly beginning to fill with the sludge that congested his systems, and it sickened him that he was reduced to swallowing it until Raf, Kylie and Bulkhead returned with the blankets Raf promised.

Prime groaned as the sneeze caused his mind-processor to ache and he rubbed his temples, gruffly sniffling.

"Gesundheit!" he heard Jack shout from the main hangar.

"Ugh...Thadk you, Jack," Optimus spoke in a hoarse tone. His throat suddenly became all tickly again and the urge to cough crept up on him, and right after he finished speaking he went into a coughing fit. He was completely stuffed up, unable to speak normally. His voice was altered from the scratchiness in his throat and he sounded ridiculous. He felt his cheek plates burning up, and he's been told numerous times to the point of annoyance that he looked flushed. A little patch of red was even visible in the middle of his face plate, right where a nose would be. If Raf hadn't informed him and Ratchet that some colds have additional symptoms, they'd have both been worried.

Ratchet entered Prime's quarters with his medical kit. "How you holding up so far?" he asked.

Optimus looked at him as if he had asked a stupid question, but he answered nonetheless. "I thidk I ab doig fide."

"You sure don't sound it," Ratchet chortled. He could see Optimus's red and blue armor were a bit paler, and the Energon-blueness in his eyes were a bit greyer. "Neither do you look it."

"I appreciate you rubbig it id, Ratchet," Optimus grumbled then sneezed again. "_Aat'choo!" _

Ratchet was thankful that no sludge went flying anywhere, especially on him. "Hang in there, Optimus. Bulkhead, Kylie and Raf are on their way back now with the blankets."

"Alright." Optimus shivered and coughed again, then groaned as if he were in pain.

"Easy, Prime," Ratchet said as he rested a hand on Prime's shoulder. "Maybe you should try laying down. You look exhausted."

"I've tried," Optimus groaned with sniffle, feeling another sudden tingle in his air vents, "but every tibe I've tried, I ed up ha..._haah_...havig...t-_tuh_-to s-s-_suuh, __**Haat'chooo! **_Ugh...sdeeze."

Ratchet couldn't help but laugh, but he didn't want his friend feeling anymore humiliated than he already was. "It'll be alright. With rest, you should get better within a few days."

Optimus fought the urge to itch his air vents and sighed. "I do dot dow if I cad hadle stayig id bed for a few days. I deed to be with by teab."

"Arcee, Lily and Bumblebee will be just fine," Ratchet informed him. "If they need an assist, I'll send Bulkhead or call for Wheeljack. You, however, are not fit for duty. No matter what happens, you will remain here." Optimus sighed again then wearily glanced at the floor, understanding Ratchet's meaning, but also unhappy about it.

"We're back!" came Raf's voice. He, Bulkhead, and Kylie came in carrying armloads, and handfuls in Bulkhead's case, of blankets. "We brought back as much as Bulkhead's trunk could hold."

Ratchet took the blankets from them and handed them to Optimus. "Thadk you, Rafael," he said, immediately using one of the blankets to wipe his mouth and spit excess sludge into it.

"And since they're blankets and not regular tissues, they can be reused. We just need to throw the used ones into a washer," explained Bulkhead.

"Oh, yes, that will be an advantage," Ratchet said with a chuckle, glancing over at Optimus, who now appeared very exhausted. "You should rest. You need it."

Optimus slowly shook his helm so he wouldn't cause another mind-processor ache. "Do...I ab fide...I do dot deed rest right dow," he said, fighting an oncoming yawn. He felt something warm touch his foot and glanced down to see Kylie looking at him with a worried expression on her face; her eyes seemed to beg him to rest. He weakly smiled and sighed. "Oh...alright, thed. I will rest." Ratchet helped him lean back as he started to yawn. "But...odly for...a little...while..." Not long after, he had fallen asleep, breathing deeply through his mouth, a faint rattling heard due to the sludge in his throat.

Ratchet smiled as he quietly urged Bulkhead and the small human children out. "He's finally asleep?" asked Jack from the couch as he and Miko finish a game.

"Indeed," Ratchet said, "and I am certain it will be a while before he wakes up."

"Hope so," Miko grumbled, "because _Sneezy-mus Prime_ cost me three tournaments, and I was winning!"

Kylie slightly glared, faintly groaning with displeasure.

"Kylie's right, Miko," said Raf. "Optimus can't help it. He doesn't have a nose like we do, so he can't suppress it."

"Oh, yeah? Then how does he sniffle?" Miko asked in a smart-alec tone. Raf had no reply and she wore a smug grin. "That is what I thought!"

"Miko," said Ratchet, "I understand that our biology is somewhat different from yours, but despite some noticeable differences, some parts of our bodies work the same as parts of yours."

Almost as if to prove his point, back in his quarters, Optimus felt another tickle in his air vents. Half-asleep and in half panic, his hands searched for the upper parts of the sides of his chest, searching for his air vents. Once he found them, he pressed his hands over them. His breathing hitched for a moment more until he relaxed, and the tingle died down.

**here is chapter 5! ^^**


	6. Chapter 6

"**Under Weathered"—A TFP Story**

* * *

**Summary: When Optimus Prime falls sick with a common human virus, leaving Ratchet, Bulkhead and the human children to tend to him, Arcee, Lily and Bumblebee head out on a mission of their own to stop Starscream and half the Decepticon armada from sinking an oil rig. But things go awry when Optimus disobeys Ratchet's orders and gets captured, but he may not need the team to rescue him.**

**Transformers © Hasbro**

**Lily and Kylie © Me**

**(no flames, pretty please. If you don't like, THEN DON'T READ)**

* * *

Chapter 6

Aboard the first ferry ride to the oil rig, the Decepticons remained hidden from the humans in the shadows behind a large stack of crates, careful to stay out of the lights. They had only been 15 minutes out at sea and things were already getting out of hand. And its name was: "motion sickness". Who ever knew that the wicked Decepticons could be affected by such a thing? Apparently not the Decepticons.

While Starscream had managed to keep his reserves down and endure the constant nausea with the roiling of the waves below the ship, the Seekers with him were not so fortunate, dashing for the rail to relieve themselves of their churning reserves.

"This is horrible," Starscream moaned. "This is worse than one of Megatron's training sessions when he uses me for target practice!" He grimaced at the sound of his Seekers retching violently.

One Seeker sitting beside him weakly chuckled. "Well...I'm sure the sick Prime is in worse condition than us. He actually has a virus while we have...uh...what's the term?"

"Sea sickness," Starscream replied, and grimaced again at the sound of his men purging. Then, the Seeker who sat beside him dashed for the rail and heaved up the rest of his reserves. Starscream sighed and leaned his head back, trying to ignore the swirling in his fuel tank. "Are we there yet?"

Back on the shore, the Autobots were still trying to figure out a way to catch up with the Decepticons before they raided the _Berkut. _

"Why not bridge onto the ferry?" asked Lily.

"No, we'll draw attention. We need to approach and attack quietly," said Arcee. "Besides, the ground bridge isn't able to open on a moving object."

"_Well, what about that time with the train when we were transporting that DNGUS thing?" _Bumblebee pointed out.

"It doesn't matter, bridging in is not an option! Should we call Optimus and ask him what he thinks we should do?"

"No way," said Lily. "If he's too sick to even stand, he's too sick to help us in any way on this mission. We're on our own while the humans, Bulkhead and Ratchet are taking care of him." That's when Bumblebee suddenly pointed in the other direction. "What is it, Bee?"

"_I think I see something!" _Bee replied.

Arcee and Lily looked to where he was pointing, and to their surprise, they spy another ferry preparing to dock. "Well, just our luck!" said Arcee.

"It must be a second shipment heading for the oil rig," Lily said. "Come on, let's get closer so we can sneak aboard."

* * *

"**RATCHET!**" Optimus hoarsely shouted from his quarters. "**WHERE IS BY SOUP?!**"

"It's coming!" Ratchet shouted back as he quickly stirred a container of steaming Energon. The medic sighed and shook his head. Ever since Optimus awoke from his nap, he's been in the foulest mood. The littlest things either annoyed or really ticked him off. And he and Bulkhead were the targets for his complaints. They all knew Optimus wouldn't dare take out his frustrations on the human children.

"Well, HURRY IT UP! I'B HUGRY!" the Prime whined then sneezed again. "_Ah, ah...__**HAT'chooo**__!_" A glob of Energon sludge hung from his lip and he growled in annoyance. "**BULKHEAD! I DEED BORE TISSUES!**"

"They're almost done drying, Optimus!" Bulkhead called while he and Miko watched the blankets spin in the dryer. "Sheesh, I can't believe he used up all the blankets already."

"That's what happens when you're sick," said Miko. "When we humans are feeling sick like this, we can wind up using an entire box of tissues! It isn't pretty, though."

"I'll bet," Bulkhead said with a chuckle. When the dryer stopped spinning and beeped, Bulkhead took out the blankets, shook them a little in order to cool them off, and then raced to Optimus's quarters, where the Autobot leader was wetly hacking away, his body trembling with each cough as if he was struggling to force all the air out. Bulk went to his side and handed him the blankets. "Here you are, sir. Sorry they took so long."

Optimus snatched one and wiped his mouth with it while Bulkhead sat the rest beside him on his berth. "Thadk you, Bulkhead," Optimus said in a dry tone, almost with sarcasm.

"You're welcome," Bulkhead nodded. "If you need anything, just let me know." With that he took his leave, and once he left he shook his head, joining Ratchet in the main hangar. "I don't like seeing Optimus this way. It's just...not Optimus."

"Well, the human children did say that this kind of sickness can alter behavior due to irritation and frustration," Ratchet elucidated.

"I know that. I just never expected this." Then the human children joined up by the rail.

"Don't worry, Bulkhead," said Raf. "After a few days' rest, he'll be back to normal."

"I'll admit, it is weird seeing the big guy act this way. It's like his total opposite," said Jack.

Bulkhead chuckled and nodded in agreement, then sees Kylie holding something. "Hey, Kyles, what's that?" Then, Kylie revealed a large, folded up piece of paper.

"Oh, it's a get-well card we're making for Optimus," Miko explained. "It's not done yet, but when it is, we'll be sure it totally wows him!"

"That's sweet of you," Bulkhead smiled. "It's very colorful. I'm sure he'll love it."

"**RATCHET!**"

"I'm coming, I'm coming!" Ratchet yelled back and poured the container of steaming Energon into a metallic bowl.

"What is that?" Rafael asked.

"Soup to make Optimus feel better," Ratchet said. "At least, I hope."

"Soup usually helps," said Jack. "That and lots of rest."

"What's it taste like?" asked Miko.

"Too many concoctions to name, unfortunately," Ratchet grumbled as he headed off to Optimus's room, where the leader sat impatiently, giving Ratchet a cold glare with his dulled optics.

"It's about tibe, Ratchet," he grouched.

"You're welcome, Mr. Spoiled Rotten," Ratchet grouched back as he handed Optimus a spoonful of the soup. "Open."

The grouchy Prime then veered his head away and folded his arms over his congested chest. "Doh! You bade be wait too log. I'b dot hugry adybore."

"What?!" Ratchet exclaimed. "Optimus Prime, as your friend and medic, I order you to eat this soup. It will make you feel better." Optimus sniffed the boiling concoction and gagged. "Oh, real mature. Now eat up. You need it."

"I'b dot hugry! I told you!"

"Optimus..."

"DOH!"

At this point, Ratchet had finally lost his patience. "Fine then. You want to sit here and act like a sparkling, go ahead. But I'm not gonna waste my time listening to your crude attitude, sick or not!" He then lifted the bowl of soup and marched out.

Optimus's optics widened as he watched Ratchet leave. "H-Hey! Where are you goig with by soup?!"

"I thought you weren't hungry. And I'm going to dispose of it, since you don't want it."

"I do wat it!"

"Nope, you said you weren't hungry."

"Ratchet...!"

"Nope. Sorry. Too late. Besides, bratty bots like yourself don't deserve this. You wanna be a grouch, you can get well all on your own." As Ratchet made his way down the hall, his audio receptors picked up the sound of sniffling. But not as if to clear a nose from congestion; as if someone was crying. He also heard whimpers now. And he knew where those sounds were coming from. Sighing and setting the soup bowl on the ground in the hall, he headed back towards Optimus's berth room to find a heart-breaking sight: Optimus Prime, the great leader of the Autobots, was now hunched over, his face buried in his hands and was sobbing, dulled tears slipping through his digits, and his body quivered with each stuffy sob.

Ratchet shook his head and went to the Prime, sitting beside him and rubbing his back. "Hey, now, it's okay. I don't entirely blame you for your behavior, Optimus."

Optimus slowly lifted his face from his hands and wiped away his tears with his knuckles. "I-I'b s-sorry that I'b tre-eatig y-you like this," he trembled. "I-I just...t-t-this feeling...I dod't l-like it...I-It hurts a-ad it's s-scratchy ad itchy ad...yucky!" Ratchet had to stifle a giggle, never thought he'd be hearing Optimus say something like "yucky". His old friend then sneezed loudly and quivered as another thick bit of Energon sludge hung off his chin. Ratchet grabbed a tissue and wiped his mouth, as well as his eyes and cheeks.

"I understand, this is rough for you," Ratchet said sympathetically. "You've never really been in a situation like this before...and I know some things, you can't help with or can't control...but know that we're here for you, but don't lug us around like we're your servants. We're your friends, your family. Not your slaves."

Optimus sniffled and wiped his eyes like a little youngling. "I-I doh...I'b sorry..." Then he looked up to Ratchet with pleading optics. "Cad I have by soup back, dow?"

"Sure," Ratchet smiled and went to fetch the soup he left in the hall. "You need any help eating? I mean, since you're such a little sparkling."

Optimus then snatched the spoon out of his hand. "I cad feed byself, Ratchet! I'b dot a sparklig!" he spat.

_You sure about that? _Ratchet thought to himself and watched Optimus scarf down the soup.

* * *

**here be chapter 6! Sorry it took so long to update. Had major writers' block and lots of schoolwork to do. I'll try to upload ch. 7 as soon as I can. Please be sure to read and review. Many thanks! ^^**


	7. Chapter 7

"**Under Weathered"—A TFP Story**

* * *

**Summary: When Optimus Prime falls sick with a common human virus, leaving Ratchet, Bulkhead and the human children to tend to him, Arcee, Lily and Bumblebee head out on a mission of their own to stop Starscream and half the Decepticon armada from sinking an oil rig. But things go awry when Optimus disobeys Ratchet's orders and gets captured, but he may not need the team to rescue him.**

**Transformers © Hasbro**

**Lily and Kylie © Me**

**(no flames, pretty please. If you don't like, THEN DON'T READ)**

* * *

Chapter 7

Arcee, Bumblebee and Lily approached the docks with extreme caution so none of the workers would notice their presence. They waited until the humans were already aboard before Arcee and Bumblebee transformed into vehicle mode, quickly and quietly sneaking onto the cargo vessel while Lily snuck aboard via her hover-board, hiding amongst the massive crates on deck. A few moments later, the foghorn sounded and the ship parted from the docks, beginning its slow venture to the _Berkut. _

"Finally," Arcee sighed of relief, transforming into biped mode but continuing to stay low. "We are on our way."

"_Those Cons won't know what hit them," _Bumblebee bleeped after transforming himself. Lily only sighed, sitting by the rail and looking out to the gushing water, resting a hand over her spark chamber. _"Are you alright, Lily?"_ he buzzed worriedly.

"You got what the humans call 'sea-sickness'?" Arcee asked.

Lily softly chuckled. "No, I'm fine. I don't get motion sickness," she replied. "It's just...I'm a little worried."

"That the plan won't go well, or about Optimus?"

"I think both."

Bee sat beside Lily and fluttered his door wings in an optimistic manner, in hopes of enlightening Lily's mood. _"Don't worry, Lil'. The three of us will be enough to handle Starscream and his goons. And I am sure Optimus is doing just fine."_

Lily glanced at him with glistening optics. "You really think we can take on Starscream and half of the Decepticon armada?"

"Well, we know we can't call for back-up," said Arcee. "Optimus needs all the help and attention he can get while he's infected with this common Earth virus, so Bulkhead must stay with him unless things become dire in our situation. But until that time, we're on our own."

Lily sighed, rubbing at her spark chamber. "Right..."

Bumblebee tapped her there. _"Everything feeling okay in there?"_

Lily nodded a little, her pigtail appendages bobbing along. "So far, nothing's changed...At least from what I can tell..."

* * *

"_**AAH-CHOOO!" **_

Optimus wiped his mouth shakily with one of the blankets and tossed it aside. "F-Fourteed," he moaned, shivering under his parachute blanket. He had once again started sneezing non-stop and thought he could pass the time by keeping track of how many times it would continue. He was not enjoying it one bit.

"_Hah...__**HAAAT-SHOOO!**_Ugh...fifteed," he groaned angrily a little, wiping his mouth and tossing it aside carelessly. He had tried covering his vents each time he had to sneeze but it only helped a little by stalling, not preventing, which was entirely frustrating for the Prime, wondering if the sneeze will come or not and how long it would take. He wondered if humans had to endure a similar kind of torture whenever they were inflicted by the same virus. With a gruff sniffle he looked at his remaining pile of blankets, seeing there were now already three remaining. Optimus groaned and leaned back in his berth, his entire body aching with chills.

He heard a gentle knock and sighed stuffily. "Who is it...?" he called out hoarsely.

"It's us, big guy!" came Miko's voice from behind the door.

Optimus grumbled, but not loud enough for the human children to hear; he was not exactly in the best of moods for some company. "What do you wadt?" he asked.

"We just want to give you something," came Jack's voice.

"But, if you don't want us around you, we understand," came Raf's voice.

Optimus now felt bad; they have something they'd like to give him, but he was pushing them away; due to his lack of control over his emotions, that thought made him tear up. "Doh, doh, doh," he said, wiping his optics and slowly sitting up. "It's alright. Y-You cad cobe id. Just a bobedt." He stood up warily, as if the entire planet of Cybertron was pressured onto his shoulders, wrapped his parachute blanket around his body and made his way for the door. He entered a code and it slid open, and he glanced down to see the four human children smiling at him.

"Optimus, you really don't look well," Rafael said worriedly.

Optimus stuffily chuckled with a heavy nod. "I ab sure I feel worse thad I appear, youg ode," he said, then made his way back to the comfort of his berth, laying down on his side so he could still see the human children as they entered.

"You sound pretty bad, too," Miko pointed out, and Kylie nudged her. "What?! He does!"

"_**HAACK-SHOOO!"**_

Unexpectedly Optimus sneezed, making the children jump out of their skins with a yelp as the whole room practically shook. Optimus reached for a blanket and wiped his mouth before spitting the Energon sludge into it, then disposing of it while mentally counting onward. _Sixteen..._ "F-Forgive be," he blushed a little, adjusting the parachute blanket over his body as he laid back down, "I ab becobig less able to codtrol theb."

"It happens, bit guy," Jack said with a shrug and a smile.

Optimus was pleased that the children didn't seem too bothered. "S-So...what was it you four wadted to give be?"

The three older children looked down to Kylie, who had something hidden behind her back. She took a step forward towards his berth and held out the giant piece of folded paper. Optimus slowly reached down and took it from her, reading the cover: 'From Jack, Miko, Raf and Kylie'. Then he carefully opened it and his optics widened. It displayed an image of a sick Optimus with the four human children hugging him closely with lots of hearts floating around them. Arched over the drawing was the phrase 'GET WELL SOON' in rainbow letters. Optimus had never felt so loved. These four small creatures cared so much for him that they made him this beautiful get-well card.

"You like it?" Miko asked, bouncing on her toes.

"It's...It's wonderful," Optimus croaked, tears forming in his optics once more.

Kylie blinked and became worried. "Optimus, what's the matter?" Raf asked.

Optimus chuckled a weak laugh and wiped his optics. "I ab sorry. I also caddot codtrol by ebotiods..." He placed the card aside and smiled down at the children, still wiping away oncoming tears. "T-Thadk you four, so buch."

"You're welcome," Raf said, smiling.

Then, Optimus's smile suddenly disappeared as a familiar and irritable feeling came again in his vents. He began hitching, then laid on his back and pressed his hands over his vents in hopes of stopping it this time. But he had his doubts.

"Optimus?" Jack said. "You okay?"

As a matter of fact, he was not okay. Optimus was struggling, he was losing; he knew it would not end well and did not want the humans to be here for it. But how could he tell them to please leave without hitching violently until he exploded for the seventeenth time?

Fortunately, the four got the hint when his hitching became more audible and violent. "Uh, we should go," Raf said nervously. They all agreed and hurried as fast as they could out of Optimus's private quarters as his hitches became rapidly intense, the door sliding closed behind them. They all sighed of relief that they were out of there before something disastrous happened and headed back to the control room.

"_**HAAAAAAT-CHOOOOOOOOO!"**_

The children heard an explosion and leapt forward, tumbling on the ground, then the sound of metal hitting against one another. Slowly, they turned around and were shocked at what they saw.

Ratchet and Bulkhead came racing over. "What happened?!" asked the medic.

"HE SNEEZED THE DOOR DOWN!" cried Miko.

Yet none were as shocked as Optimus. He sat up in his berth, not caring about the dribble of sludge hanging off of his chin, as he gawked in horror at the sight of the door to his private quarters to have literally been torn away by the gale-force of his sneeze. He felt humiliated and ashamed; then he hid himself under his parachute blanket and softly cried.


	8. Chapter 8

"**Under Weathered"—A TFP Story**

* * *

**Summary: When Optimus Prime falls sick with a common human virus, leaving Ratchet, Bulkhead and the human children to tend to him, Arcee, Lily and Bumblebee head out on a mission of their own to stop Starscream and half the Decepticon armada from sinking an oil rig. But things go awry when Optimus disobeys Ratchet's orders and gets captured, but he may not need the team to rescue him.**

**Transformers © Hasbro**

**Lily and Kylie © Me**

**(no flames, pretty please. If you don't like, THEN DON'T READ)**

* * *

Chapter 8

Optimus, cheeks flushed from fever and embarrassment from earlier, stared at his fixed door with dull optics. He sniffled each time he had an itch in his vents or in his throat and spat into a blanket, tossing it aside and held a fresh one in hand in case of any other...messes. A few times he sensed a sneeze coming but it never came, and it frustrated him. He believed he heard Miko say something about a sneeze that 'teases'.

Then, he suddenly heard grunting coming from the main hangar and his curiosity got the best of him. He knew Ratchet would blow a gasket if he found him not in his berth, but he had to see what was going on. Stepping into the hall and peering inside, he saw Bulkhead carrying massive boxes, with another pile of them stacked behind him. "Bulkhead..." he said hoarsely.

Bulkhead turned around and gasped. "Optimus, what are you doing up? If Ratchet find you out of your berth, he'll blow a fuse!"

"I kdow..." Optimus stuffily sighed. "Where are the hubad childred?"

"With Ratchet."

"Ad, what are you doig?"

"Ratchet asked me to carry these boxes full of medical equipment to his lab," Bulkhead told him. "He said he was planning to whip up something."

"Oh...Well, you look like you could use sobe help."

"No, no, Optimus, you're not well," Bulkhead said.

"I thidk I cad hadle liftig boxes, Bulkhead. Ad I ab tired of layig aroud od by aft doig dothig except sdeeze ad cough."

Bulkhead pondered for a moment then sighed. "Well...if you say you are well enough, then I guess you could help out a little."

Optimus smiled. "Thadk you, Bulkhead." Hugging himself for a moment to warm himself up, he reached down and lifted up a box, nearly dropping it. He knew this illness had sapped his strength, for carrying an average sized Autobot box now seemed to be like ten times that amount. But he could not falter. He carried one box after another with Bulkhead, and each box he held sucked his strength away from him. He began to feel dizzy.

"Optimus, you alright?" Bulkhead asked, noticing his leader looking exhausted and flushed.

Optimus swallowed with a cough and weakly nodded. "I ab...fide, Bulkhead...Just f-fi..." The box slipped from his hands and crashed to the floor, Optimus following its lead and collapsing to his knees.

"Optimus!" Bulkhead shouted and ran to his hacking leader's aid. "Are you alright?!" Optimus was too busy coughing and shaking to answer.

That was when Ratchet ran out with the human children behind him. "What was that noise I"—He stopped in his tracks at the sight of the broken box and Optimus kneeling beside it. "What in the name of Alpha Trion's beard is going on?!" he asked as he stormed over angrily.

"I-I," Bulkhead stammered, "I am sorry, Ratchet. He said that he was fine enough to help."

Ratchet helped the wobbly, sniffling Optimus to his feet, checking him all over, then swiftly turning towards Bulkhead. "He most definitely is _**not**_ fine! He is burning up and you are having him carry crates?! I told you that the sickness would sap his strength and that he is not supposed to get out of bed!"

However, while Ratchet ranted, he didn't notice Optimus suddenly starting to hitch again and his body shaking; but Bulkhead did and he backed away some.

"Don't you dare back away from me!" Then Ratchet turned towards Optimus. "And as for _you—"_

"_**HAAAT-SHOOOOO!"**_

_**~*CLANG!*~**_

Bulkhead watched in shock as Ratchet once again got a face full of Energon sludge and flinched when Optimus and Ratchet's helms collided powerfully. Ratchet seemed dazed for a moment, and then he fell back and face-planted to the floor.

"Ratchet!" exclaimed Rafael as the human children raced over.

Optimus blinked, equally as shocked, and backed away. "I-I'b so sorry! I dever beadt to..._t-tuh...haah...! Haah!_"

"There he goes again!" Miko shouted and the humans ran for cover.

"Optimus, no!" Bulkhead exclaimed and quickly ran behind his leader, pressing his hands over his vents, and Optimus gripped his hands, pressing them tighter over them. They both waited, wondering what would happen; Bulkhead could feel Optimus's body tremble as if he was fighting an internal war—which he technically was. And things seemed to settle down until—

"_**HAAAAAAAAAH—CHOOOOOOOO!" **_

Optimus sneezed powerful enough to flip Bulkhead over him, and unintentionally spray him with sludge as well, landing on the floor with a loud thud.

"Bulkhead!" Miko cried out and ran over.

Optimus was horrified at what had just happened. He stood there gawking at his friends in utter shock before fleeing upset, stumbling a little, and isolated himself in his quarters.

* * *

"Optimus, come on out."

"**DOH!"**

"You've been under there for thirty minutes now. We're not mad at you about what happened."

"**DOH! GO AWAY!"**

"You know your berth doesn't hide you very well."

"**DOD'T CARE!"**

Ratchet sighed; he had been at this for the past twenty minute, standing outside the threshold while trying to sway Optimus into coming out of "hiding". Ever since the incident with his door, he's hidden himself from the humans and other bots, not caring how poor of a job he's shielding himself.

"You're behaving like a sparkling again," Ratchet said.

"**I AB DOT!"** Optimus shouted stuffily before coughing wetly.

"Do I need to drag you out from under there, mister?"

"**GO AWAY! LEAVE BE ALODE!"**

Ratchet shook his head, exhaling a defeated huff. Knowing how stubborn Optimus used to be once, he knew there was no point in altercating this any longer. "Fine, I'll leave you alone," he said, walking down the hall, "but if you start wanting company, don't come crying to me." He then headed for his laboratory, mixed a thick, light green elixir, then looked into his microscope.

"What was that all about?" Bulkhead asked with the human children behind him, coming back from cleaning himself up.

Ratchet exhaled a laugh while shaking his helm once more. "Just Optimus acting immature again," he explained. "He simply refuses to come out from under his berth; he's still embarrassed from earlier."

"Heck, I would be too if I sneezed my door down and then blew my friends away!" Miko pointed out, earning yet another harsh nudge from little Kylie. "Quit doing that!"

"Well, quit teasing Optimus," Jack scolded. "He can't help it anymore than we can when we're sick, and taunting him about is not going to make things any better."

"Hopefully, this elixir I'm working on will," Ratchet said.

"What is it?" Rafael asked.

"After doing a little research on some of you humans' method in treating colds, I started comparing it do Cybertronian remedies," Ratchet elucidated.

"So, kind of like Cybertronian cold medicine."

"In a way. But in order to make it, I had to get a sample of the virus from Optimus."

"How did you get a sample?" asked Bulkhead.

"You do not want to know," Ratchet replied, peering into his microscope again.

"Where did you get a sample?" asked Miko.

"You do not want to know that, either." Ratchet added a few more drops of fluid to the thick green substance and stirred it. "There, it is finished."

Bulkhead got a whiff of it and it made his optics water. "Whew! That is strong! How are you going to make Optimus take it?"

"I plan to hide it in his next batch of soup that I am preparing for him. Even if he refuses, I'll make sure he takes it," Ratchet said.

"I have a feeling this may not end well," Jack said, folding his arms over his chest.

"You and me both."

* * *

Starscream and the two Decepticons aiding him sat on the deck, resting their heads against the crates; thankfully their sweet motion-sickness had subsided some, since they had nothing left to cough up, so they could relax—but for only a bit. The _Berkut _was still a distance away, and it was too risky to simply fly there without being spotted by humans.

"Are we there yet?" moaned one of the Decepticons.

"No, you imbecile, we are not there yet!" Starscream spat. "You have asked that five times already!"

"Time goes by so slow on these ships," said the other Decepticon, rubbing his head, "while everything else around it speeds up."

"Why can we not transform and fly the rest of the way?" asked the first.

"You dolt, you know why we can't! If we are spotted by the humans too soon, our element of surprise would be useless! As much as it may disgust you all, including myself, we must remain on this Earthly sea vessel for the duration of the voyage. Am I clear?!"

"Yes, Commander Starscream," the Decepticons said in unison, saluting.

Then, they suddenly see a distant glow of light on the deck. "Human!" a Decepticon exclaimed silently.

"Hide," Starscream ordered and they hid within the gaps between the crates, keeping low and quiet. The human guard walked by, shining a flashlight around, before stopping and leaning against the rail. He reached into a satchel that he wore and pulled out a drink; he opened the can and started to guzzle it down. Then he shouted in Russian down the deck and three more humans in the same uniform gather around, and thy converse and laugh.

Starscream softly groaned angrily, knowing that with the humans around, they would be cramped in their hiding places for a while.

* * *

Ratchet held his breath as he poured the elixir into the steaming bowl of Energon soup, stirring it up until it was no longer noticeable. He inhaled the aroma of the soup, satisfied that no trace of the elixir could be smelled—even though Optimus wouldn't be able to smell anything as long as he was ill.

He carried the soup and peered inside of Optimus quarters; Optimus was back on his berth, curled up into a ball, snoring rather loudly. Ratchet couldn't help but smile. He did not want to disturb his friend's resting, but he needed the soup and the medicine hidden within it. Quietly, he crept over and shook his friend awake. "Optimus," he said in a soft sing-song tone, "time to wake up and eat some soup~~."

Optimus moaned and rolled over. "Dot...hugry," he croaked.

"Well, you're eating it anyway," Ratchet declared, yanked the parachute off of Optimus and held it away.

Optimus exclaimed and curled further inward, hugging himself and shivering as the warmth he had from his parachute blanket vanished. He sat up and reached for it. "By blakie, give it back!" he demanded.

"Only if you agree to eat, Optimus," Ratchet said, teasing him a little by appearing to give him the parachute and pulling it away again.

"Give it, give it, give it!" Optimus whined, seeming ready to cry. "I'll eat, just give be it!"

"Do you promise?"

"Yes!" Optimus whimpered, wiping his optics with his knuckles.

"Very well." Ratchet sat the bowl down and draped the parachute blanket back over Optimus's shivering body. He quickly checked him and confirmed he still had a bit of a fever. Then he placed the bowl of soup in Optimus's lap. "Go on and eat."

Optimus looked at the concoction with uneasy optics, but he didn't want to have his parachute blanket taken away again, so he forced himself to guzzle the soup down until the bowl was empty. "Easy, bit guy, or you'll upset your fuel tanks," Ratchet told him. Once the bowl was empty, he grinned and took it away. "There. Was that so bad? Now try and go back to sleep."

Optimus rubbed his full fuel tank and yawned, suddenly feeling drowsy, and he laid back down; he wasn't as sleepy anymore, but exhausted enough to want to lay down and not move a single fiber in his body. Although his optics felt extremely heavy, they didn't want to close, so he laid there in his berth, doing absolutely nothing.

As Ratchet entered his lab, dropping the soup bowl onto the counter, he scoffed a laugh and shook his head, having an idea of what awaits them all in the near future. "This should be interesting."


	9. Chapter 9

"**Under Weathered"—A TFP Story**

**Summary: Optimus suffers the effects of the medicine, leading him to leaving the base against Ratchet's orders and coming across trouble; meanwhile, Starscream nears the oil rig, and the others hurry to catch up.**

**Transformers © Hasbro**

**Lily and Kylie © Me**

**(no flames, pretty please. If you don't like, THEN DON'T READ)**

* * *

Chapter 9

Bumblebee buzzed a yawn as he stretched his door wings, rubbing his optics. The long boat ride to the oil rig had made him feel rather exhausted; but he wanted to stay alert in case anything happened. It's certainly what Optimus would do.

He felt a hand on his arm and turned to see Arcee. "You tired, too?" she said, smirking.

"_No...I'm..." _he buzzed another yawn, _"fine..."_

Arcee only rolled her optics and pointed to where Lily laid in between some of the crates, also taking a cat nap. "Go on and get some rest," she told him. "I'll let you know if anything happens. Don't worry." Bee wanted to protest, but he was too tired to argue, so he complied, transformed into his vehicle mode and powered down for a while.

Arcee smiled at the two sleeping young bots, then her smile fell as she gazed out at the open water. Like Lily, she had her worries, her doubts. She was worried about whether or not they would catch up with Starscream in time and stop him from summoning half of the Decepticon armada and destroying the oil rig. She was also concerned for Optimus's well being. Lily said she felt no change, but she had a suspicion she only said so in order for her and Bumblebee to not worry. She really hoped the three of them could handle it, for the last thing she wanted was to call Bulkhead or Ratchet, leaving Optimus alone. Sighing to herself, she prayed things were alright back at the base.

* * *

Optimus warily opened his heavy optics as he slowly emerged from a long nap. He didn't remember when he had fallen asleep, nor did he care. Surprisingly, he felt a little bit better and a small percent of his strength had returned. He propped himself onto his elbow joint and pushed himself up, crossing his legs. As he looked around, his head felt like it was spinning and the world was in swirls. For some reason, Optimus found it funny and chuckled.

He heard a knock at the door and saw Ratchet enter. With his uneven vision Ratchet appeared rather odd, yet amusing to the Prime and he laughed. "Ratchet, whed did you becobe purple?" he slurred.

Ratchet couldn't help but laugh. "I see the medicine has kicked in," he said. "You're still a little stuffy, but not as bad as earlier."

"Bedicide? What bedicide?" Optimus asked, tilting his head way off to the side.

"The medicine I slipped into your soup."

"Oh...well no woder I feel so fuddy," Optimus grinned and giggled. He looked at his hands and his optics widened. "By the All-Spark...by hads are huge!"

Ratchet laughed aloud and patted him on the shoulder. "My, the medicine sure is taking a toll," he said.

"But look...They're so big ad they feel fuzzy...!" Optimus curled his fingers in and clenched his fists, loosened them, and did the same thing over and over again. He looked down at his legs and gasped. "Ratchet, by feet are gode! Where did they go?"

"Spread out your legs and they will magically appear," the medic told him.

Optimus did as Ratchet said, dangling them over the edge of his berth, and gasped. "There they are!" he exclaimed, rotating his angles.

Ratchet laughed, shaking his head. "You see, I told you."

"By legs are heavy," Optimus pouted as he swung his legs.

"Let me help," Ratchet suggested. He bent down and grabbed Optimus's leg by his ankle and lifted each one up, but not without giving each foot a little tickle just to make the Prime giggle like a child. Ratchet giggled himself as he had Optimus lay back down. "Now, you rest some, okay?"

"Doh, dod't wadda," Optimus shook his head, instantly becoming dizzy and swaying a little.

"Well, you have to," Ratchet declared. "Doctor's orders. And if I find you out of bed again, I will give you the worst tickle torture that you could ever imagine." To emphasize his point he playfully tickled Optimus's abdomen, making the childish mech giggle and curl inward. "Now stay in that berth," he said sternly, shaking a strict finger in front of the Prime's face, then he left, shutting the door, rejoining the others in the control room.

"How is he?" Rafael asked, little Kylie clinging to his arm.

"He's awake," Ratchet began, "and the elixir has indeed kicked in. He's already experiencing odd behavior and his systems are not working properly. Some of the side effects."

"So, he's basically loopy?" Miko said.

"If that is the humanly way of putting it, then yes; he is loopy."

"Sweet! I have got to see that!"

"Not at the moment. I want Optimus resting in peace," Ratchet said. "I will not have him be disturbed, whether he minds or not."

"Aww!"

"But, he is okay, isn't he?" Raf asked.

"Well his fever is still percolating a bit, his airways are still clogged with Energon sludge, but because of the elixir he is in a more calm mood."

"Okay," Raf said, sighing a little of relief.

Ratchet frowned. "I do not see why you are so concerned for him," he told the boy. "You were the ones who said he would be okay. Why so anxious?"

Raf blinked and looked at his feet for a moment. "Well," he began, "I know we said that, and it's true; he'll be okay. But I remember Arcee saying you guys rarely get sick, so..."

"We just want to be sure that the big guy will be a-okay," Jack finished, and Kylie nodded her head in agreement.

Ratchet pondered on what he had just been told and smiled. "Well, I am sure he appreciates your concern," he said.

They all jumped when they heard a loud _**WHAM! **_

"That came from Optimus's quarters," Bulkhead exclaimed and they all raced to their leader's private quarters, stopping outside of the threshold.

They found Optimus laying flat on his back on the floor with his feet propped up on the berth, the parachute covering most of his body, and he was laughing. "O-Optimus..." Ratchet said, "are you...alright?"

"Oh, frag!" Optimus laughed. "I fell dowd..."

"He...seems okay," Bulkhead said, a bit bewildered at the sight of a drugged Optimus Prime.

Miko giggled excitedly and bounced on her toes. "He's too funny! Can we keep him like this?! Can we?!"

Ratchet rolled his optics as he and Bulkhead went over and helped Optimus to his feet. "Easy, Optimus," he said, patting Optimus on the chest.

"How are you feeling, sir?" Bulkhead asked.

"Like I just stepped off of the assebly lide!" Optimus giggled and through his hands in the air, quickly losing balance as Ratchet and Bulkhead scurried to straighten him up again. While their sparks nearly jumped out of their chambers, Optimus laughed as if he was having a ball.

"I think you need to lay back down," Bulkhead suggested, and he and Ratchet started to set Optimus back on his berth.

But he suddenly jumped back up, staggering forward a little, and used the wall for support. "I do dot deed to lay back dowd," he declared. "I ab as good as ever!"

"That is definitely the medicine talking," Ratchet murmured and grinned. "Oh, Optimus~~? Remember what I told you about not staying in your berth?"

Optimus frowned as it he was thinking, then his optics widened and he started backing away, hugging his abdomen. "Doh, Ratchet!" he exclaimed as he headed for the doorway, the human children quickly getting out of his way.

"Come here!" Ratchet shouted and began to chase the wobbling Optimus around, the both of them laughing. Bulkhead followed behind in case either of them got hurt; he was quite surprised that Optimus was moving around just fine, despite being a bit slurred by the elixir Ratchet gave him. Optimus giggled like a sparkling as he avoided each of Ratchet's attempts to grab at him while the medic was the first to begin tiring.

"Optimus...get...back here!" he said breathily, coming to a stop and hunching over to catch his breath. Optimus hid behind the wall, panting and laughing, unaware of Bulkhead sneaking up on him.

"Gotcha!" Bulkhead announced when he wrapped his arms around Optimus's abdomen and held a firm grip.

"Hey! Doh fair!" Optimus whined, trying to break free.

"Sorry, boss. But you're not going anywhere."

* * *

At last, the Russian workers went back inside of the ferry, and it was safe for Starscream and the other two drones to come out of hiding. Good thing, too, for one of the drones had started feeling "sea-sick" again. They crawled out of their hiding space and onto the deck, while the one drone ran for the rail, dumping what little of his reserves were left into the churning ocean.

Starscream and the other drone cringed as they laid down, also feeling the effects of the roiling waves. How much longer would they have to endure this? They were, literally and figuratively, becoming sick of this sea-sickness and the waiting. He hoped they would be near the oil rig sometime soon, and that this sea nightmare would come to an end.

"S-Starscream..." croaked the sea-sick drone. "I-I see...lights up ahead."

Starscream raised his head and got to his knees so he could see beyond the edge of the deck; indeed there were light on the horizon, and they were getting brighter as the cargo ship drew closer. "It's the oil rig!" he exclaimed softly. "At last we have made it! And soon, all of that fuel will be ours for the taking."

"Shall we transform and head towards there, sir?" asked the other drone.

"Not just yet," Starscream answered. "We cannot risk being spotted by the humans. We will wait until we are a little bit closer...before we strike."

"Yes, Commander Starscream."

* * *

Laying flat on his berth, while Bulkhead kept watch from a corner, Optimus started panting. His mind-processor ached, he felt hot and cold simultaneously, and everything around him continued to spin and warble. He couldn't find a comfortable position, and his whole body ached. He shivered and curled up under his blanket with a heavy, painful cough. He found it difficult to breathe, even though he knew Autobots didn't need to breathe; his airways were still clogged, and he was out of tissues.

He started becoming desperate for fresh air and had a hard time staying still. He squeezed his optics shut, hoping the burning from his fever would dissipate, though the chances were very unlikely.

Bulkhead noticed his leader in distress and perked up. "Optimus? You okay?" he asked. Optimus's response was a wheezy cough, still squirming violently on his berth. Bulkhead got to his feet and went to him. "Do you need anything? Are you hot?" He saw his leader's cheek plates were very bright, and when he checked his temperature, he instantly coiled back with a wince. "This isn't good...I'll go get Ratchet." Bulkhead hurried out to fetch the medic—leaving the Prime alone.

Optimus decided to make his move and got up from his berth, nearly falling over due to dizziness from his fever. Panting, he headed for the door, slid it open, and entered the hall; it was indeed much cooler than his private quarters, but he needed to get outside. He felt like he was suffocating. With a desperate moan, he swayed down the hall to the main hangar, where the human children were curled up on the couch, napping. He tried being quiet so he wouldn't wake them, but he often stumbled into the wall or couldn't help but hack away.

Kylie moaned as she woke up, seeing Optimus head for the tunnel. She gasped, thinking he was going out and knew he could get hurt, and shook the others awake.

Jack groaned as he sat up. "What is it, Kyles?" he asked, then noticed Optimus wavering towards the tunnel. "Where are you going, Optimus?"

Optimus winced, too dizzy and still loopy to lift his head. "Deed...out..." he barely managed to speak.

"But, it's too dangerous," Raf said.

"You better get back to bed before Ratchet and Bulkhead see you," said Miko, pointing a firm finger to his quarters. "Right now, mister." Optimus didn't listen as he crouched down and transformed into his vehicle mode, revving his engine, which sounded no better than himself. Then he took off, starting slow at first, then speeding up.

The children jumped when they heard footsteps, and turned to see Ratchet and Bulkhead enter. "What was that?" Ratchet asked. The humans were too frightened to answer. "Did someone leave?!"

"Is Optimus still in his quarters?" Bulkhead asked anxiously, but the children still didn't answer. He went to go check—but found the room empty. "He's gone!"

"What?!" Ratchet roared and looked to the humans. "Where did he go?!"

"W-We don't know," Raf stammered as Kylie huddled close to him, "h-he just said he needed out!"

"He looked like he was having an asthma attack," Miko pointed out.

"He could be anywhere by now!" Bulkhead exclaimed.

Ratchet searched for Optimus's signal, but no results came up. "He must've turned off his comm. link system, and made it so we wouldn't follow him."

"Why?" asked Jack.

"He probably feels he can find his way back on his own, and believes a little fresh air may help," Ratchet explained, "but he is more vulnerable out there, and he is in no condition to protect himself."

* * *

"Lily. Bee, wake up," Arcee said, shaking the two cat-napping bots awake.

Bumblebee and Lily stirred and awake, sitting up and yawning. "H-How long were we asleep?" Lily asked, rubbing her optics.

"Over an hour," Arcee answered, then pointed to the horizon as they walked to the rail. "Look. See those lights? I think it might be the oil rig."

"Sweet! We're almost there," Lily cheered.

"No, not sweet," said Arcee. "It also means that the Decepticons are closer to the rig. And they have access in getting there easily. They can fly, and we can't exactly drive on water."

"Oh...right," Lily said, her pigtails drooping.

"_So what do we do?" _asked Bumblebee.

Lily walked off and glanced over the rail, and then her pigtails fluttered joyously. "Guys! I see a small lifeboat here! We can use it to catch up with the Decepticons!"

Bumblebee and Arcee glanced over. "That's good, but we can't all fit in there," she pointed out.

Bee went to the other side and fluttered his door wings. _"There's a second one here one of us can use!" _

"Okay," Arcee said, "Lily and I will take this one here, and you take that one. We have no time to lose."

* * *

Optimus lost track of how long he had driven. He even forgot what direction he had gone in. Was he still in Jasper, or even in Nevada? He couldn't tell. His energy suddenly started draining rapidly. He could no longer move by vehicle. Slowing, he transformed into his robot form, stumbling and falling forward, landing on the ground with a loud thud.

Groaning, he pushed himself to his knees, trying to fan away the cloud of dirt around him before he could have another sneeze spell. He forced himself to his feet, but his head spun and throbbed from his fever and the medicine and he wobbled. He waited until he had some balance before advancing slowly onward. Taking slow deep breaths, he sucked in the fresh air, slowly letting it out, hearing the Energon sludge in his airways rattle. The night was cool and it made him shiver. He suddenly longed for the warmth of his berth and parachute blanket. But now he had no means of contacting anyone.

Suddenly, he heard the familiar sound of jet turbo-thrusters boosting, coming closer to his position. Warily looking up, he saw a small squadron of Decepticon drones approach and land around him.

"Well, well," said the first drone, "what have we here?"

"The Prime who infected our leader!" spat the second.

"In...Infected...?" Optimus hoarsely repeated.

"Megatron's been looking for you," said the third drone, "but apparently you have come to us."

"And you clearly do not stand a chance!" shouted the fourth drone, aiming his blasters at Optimus.

Optimus panted, weakly snarling as he transformed his hands into blasters; but he had very little strength, and he couldn't even lift them despite his efforts.

As he swayed to make a move, the drones fired upon him at once, knocking him down and out in an instant. They gathered around the helpless Prime, taunting him while he was unconscious.

The first drone contacted the _Nemesis_. "Soundwave, this is Squadron 4," he said. "We found Optimus Prime. We need an immediate ground bridge."

As the message ended, a bridge opened in front of them. They each grabbed a limb of the fallen Prime, and hauled him through, taking him aboard the Decepticon warship.

* * *

**A/N: so sorry for taking so long with this! I hope you guys like it! **


	10. Chapter 10

"**Under Weathered"—A TFP Story**

* * *

**Summary: Optimus is taken aboard the Nemesis, and is demanded by Megatron of a way to remove this disease from his body; meanwhile, the bots catch up with Starscream and they fight.**

**Transformers © Hasbro**

**Lily and Kylie © Me**

**(no flames, pretty please. If you don't like, THEN DON'T READ)**

* * *

**A/N: I AM SOOOOOOOOOOO SORRY FOR THE SUPER INEXCUSABLE LONG HIATUS! I just lost interest in it for a long while DX Please forgive me...  
**

Chapter 10

When Optimus came to, he felt himself being dragged across the floor. Weakly fluttering his optics open, he saw the floor was inches from his face; his mouth was sticky with Energon sludge, his head pounded, and his entire body ached and shook. The medicine Ratchet gave him had worn completely off. He was not doing well, and his brawl with the Decepticons only made it worse. He was too weak to lift his head to look around, but he somehow already knew where he was.

He was on board the _Nemesis. _

He felt two firm sets of hands around his arms, pulling him down the hall. His hearing was muffled as he slowly regained consciousness, but he could hear the Decepticons taunting him, while some were warning others to stay back. They thought of him as a germ, and he didn't blame them. He admitted to himself that he was a mess, and he was in this much trouble because he didn't listen to Ratchet. If—_When_, he made it back to base, Ratchet would chew it out of him for causing so much trouble.

When Optimus fully regained his senses, he coughed violently, spitting Energon sludge onto the floor and shaking his head. His throat felt strained and wet like he was choking on his own Energon—which, technically, he was. The loud voices of the other Decepticons rang in his wary audio receptors, increasing the throb in his head. His blurred, watery vision adjusted around him, and he realized he was being dragged into the medical bay, where he was harshly dropped down to the floor. Why would they bring him there? As he struggled to find the strength to push himself up off the floor, he heard a familiar voice—but something was off.

"Optibus Pribe..."

Optimus slowly lifted his head at the voice. "Begatrod...?" he said hoarsely.

Indeed, the Decepticon leader was there—and to Optimus, he could easily see he was not himself. As Megatron turned to him, he could see his red optics were a little duller, there were small Energon stains around his mouth, and he seemed to be shaking. He breathed heavily, as though he was trying to control himself, with a sick—literally sick—smile on his face. "I suppose you dow why you have beed brought here," Megatron said hoarsely.

Optimus panted and shook his head. "Dot...exactly..." he said with a cough.

Megatron scowled and glared harshly like he was some stupid animal. "Well. While od ady other occasiod, I would destroy you here ad dow, but at the bobedt, I deed you. You are here because of what you have wrought upod be!..._Hehh_..._H-Hehh_..._**HIIT'SCHUUH!"**_ Megatron weakly and disgustingly sneezed, wiping his mouth with his hand and flicking it away. Optimus knew what happened in the field was an accident, but also knew it mattered not to Megatron. "However, I badaged to dotice you are surprisingly doig better thad I ab," Megatron added, slowly approaching Optimus, "so you will liger here udtil you codfess the bethods you use ad share theb with be."

"It's...buch bore...sibple thad you assube..." Optimus said, followed by a sniffle and more coughing. "Just...rest...ad warb fluids...so the hubads say..."

"Is that all?" Megatron hissed, not seeming to buy what Optimus had to say. "There bust be bore thad that! There bust be!"

"I assubed buch bore byself, but..._buh_..._**HAAT'CHOOW!"**_ Optimus sneezed, and the Decepticons standing near him backed away quickly like he was some toxic contamination.

"But dothig!" Megatron growled. "You are do doubt hidig the true bethods so you cad be healed quicker of this disease of which you had idfected be with!"

"Do, Begatrod, it's—!" Optimus was silenced by being weakly kicked back, but in Optimus's hindered state, it managed to do some sort of damage.

"Siledce!" he barked. "Decepticods! Take hib away; if he still wod't adswer to you...you dow what to do."

"Yes, Lord Megatron," the Decepticons nodded. Some led Optimus away while the rest tended to their master's every want and need.

The Cons dragged Optimus into an empty cell, clamped shackled on his wrists, and suspended him in the air; the room was unsettlingly cold and Optimus shivered. Leaving him hanging there while he was already a mess was humiliating enough; he only hoped he wouldn't start crying for no apparent reason or throw a childish tantrum like he did with Ratchet. Three of the Decepticons remained and stood a fair distance from him.

"So, are you going to spit it out, or do we need to resort to torture?" one Con spoke harshly.

"I..." Optimus started off weakly, "already...told Begatrod the truth...That is all there is to it..."

"Oh, and you are just going to take some puny human's word for it?" said the second Decepticon. "Fine, then. Since you won't talk, we'll have to make you."

The third Decepticon opened a small vault on the wall, and revealed the torture device. Optimus sighed and cringed. "You have got to be kiddig be..."

* * *

Arcee, Lily, and Bumblebee zoomed in their little lifeboats towards the ferry the Decepticons were traveling on. They were closing in, preparing their attack: they would jump aboard on each side of the ferry from their lifeboats and take down Starscream and his goons before they reached the oil rig.

"This is it," Arcee said, "get ready."

"_Ready as we'll ever be!_" Bumblebee bleeped from his boat.

Lily grinned ahead when something took her mind off the mission; she glanced down at her chest and slightly rubbed it.

"Everything okay?" Arcee asked.

"Hmm," Lily replied. "Papa seems to be in…almost like a merry mood."

"How do you mean?"

"Well, it's not sad or frustrated. It just feels light, but also kinda heavy. Whatever that means. I just hope he's okay."

"Let's not worry about that," Arcee told her. "Right now we need to focus on the mission. I am sure Optimus is fine."

Meanwhile, aboard their ferry, Starscream was chortling excitedly as their ride neared the oil rig with each passing second. "We are almost there, men!"

"Good," moaned one of the Vehicons, "because I cannot take anymore of this stupid sea-sickness."

"Soon, all of that energy will be ours! And once we harness that energy, we will not only overpower the Autobots, but also overpower Megatron himself!"

The second Vehicon was still by the rail, trying to get rid of the swirling feeling in his fuel tank. That was when he spotted a lifeboat coming up on the starboard side of the ferry, and in it was something that alerted him. "C-Commander Starscream! Starboard side! Autobot!"

"What?!" Starscream growled and came over, and he saw Bumblebee sitting in the boat. "Curses! How did those Autobots manage to catch up with us?! We must not allow that scout to get in our way! Fire at him!"

"But sir! We'll be spotted by the humans!"

"I do not care! Finish him off!"

Suddenly, there was a single blaster fire coming from behind, and the Starscream turned to see the Autobot Arcee holding the unconscious Vehicon in her grasp, with Lily standing beside her. "Mind if we cut in?"

* * *

Of all the punishments and tortures Optimus had endured, on Earth and on Cybertron, this had to be the worst he had ever experienced.

"AHAHAHA! HAHAHAHAHA! S-STOP!"

He was kept still by one of the three Decepticons while another tickled him all over with their torture device—_a giant feather_. Where in the world they found one that enormous was beyond him. The second he saw it, Optimus knew exactly what he was in for. On any other day he would have handled a few tickles and would have found the feeling annoying, but in his current state, he was practically putty in the enemy's hands.

"Aww, look at the tough Autobot leader, rendered down to a fit of the giggles," taunted the Con torturing him.

"D-DOH BORE! AHAHAHAHA! STOP IT!" Optimus laughed and pleaded stuffily, coughing every now and then.

"Not until you give us the information our lord and master seeks!" the third Decepticon, standing on the far side of the room, demanded.

"I—HAHAHAHA—ALREADY TOLD YOU—HOOHOOHOO! T-THAT'S ALL THERE'S TO IT!"

"You must be lying! Alright, men, go for it!"

While Optimus was still calming his giggles, the Decepticon holding the feather brushed it rapidly over the poor Prime's vents, even forcing the tip in and twirling it. Optimus's laughter instantly shifted into quick hitches. "HAHAHA…haha…_Ah hah haah! Aaat-__**CHOOO**__!_"

"No, you idiots!" the third Con exclaimed. "Lord Megatron's orders are to torment him but not allow him to _expel_ like that! We must not let him _contaminate_ us with the disease he carries!"

"Yes, sir!" the second Con nodded.

Optimus panted shakily, forcing himself to swallow the vile Energon sludge building up in the back of his throat. He regretted ever leaving the base, let alone the warmth of his berth, whether he was influenced by medicine or not. The child inside him wanted to fuss and throw a fit about the discomfort and the desire to return home, but as a Prime he had to tough it out. But this was one interrogation where he desperately wanted to give into, just to relieve the irritable feeling inside.

* * *

"Arcee is going to turn us into slag for this!" Bulkhead exclaimed. "How could we lose him in only a few minutes?!"

"Uh, I think you should be more worried about what Lily might do to you," Miko smirked.

"Alright, let's not panic," Ratchet said. "He could not have ventured far in his condition; he's drained most of his energy from our little skirmish earlier."

"And from the amount of Energon he spat into those blankets," Bulkhead added.

"Is there any way you can track him, Ratchet?" Raf asked.

The medic shook his head. "Even if there was, Rafael, his signal would be weak due to his health. I've tried everything to pick up even the slightest bit of information, but there's nothing!"

Kylie whimpered and tugged on Raf's sleeve, giving him a fearful look.

"I don't want to believe it either," he said to her.

"What is it?" Ratchet asked the boy.

"Kylie is worried that the Decepticons might have taken him."

The two Autobots' optics widened at that notion. "I-It's a possibility," Ratchet stammered, "one that I hope has not come to pass."

"I'm going to go out and look for him," Bulkhead said and transformed.

"Hey, wait for me, Bulk!" Miko exclaimed and hopped in, and then the two drove out of the base, the others watching them go.

"While Bulkhead searches, I will resume vigil on the monitor, in case anything shows up," Ratchet stated. "You three…do something to keep yourself occupied."

Rafael, Jack, and Kylie looked amongst each other in silence, until Raf suggested, "Want to make another get-well card?"

* * *

The three Autobots and two Decepticons still conscious glared at one another. Bumblebee and Arcee aimed their blasters while Lily stood behind them for her safety; Starscream and the other Vehicon aimed their blasters directly at the Autobots.

"Do you really want to fight this fight?" Starscream said. "You will reveal yourselves to the humans."

"We'd rather have our existence known than let you win this war," Arcee growled.

"Yeah, and you're outnumbered!" Lily added. "Just surrender, before things get ugly!"

The lieutenant laughed aloud at her weak threats. "And what will you do about it, Auto-brat?"

"You should be more concerned about us," Arcee answered and fired her blaster.

"Agh!" Starscream ducked. "Decepticons! Take flight! To the rig!" They transformed and took to the air. The Autobots leapt back into the rafts and took off after them. Bumblebee and Arcee aimed their blasters and fired, trying to shoot them out of the sky.

"_Will we need to attack them if they reach the rig?" _Bumblebee bleeped.

"They won't reach the rig," Arcee replied. "They'll be sinking to the bottom of the ocean when this is over. Now let's go."

"But, what if we don't catch them?" Lily asked.

"Be optimistic. We'll put a stop to Starscream's scheme and return to base, and you can help Optimus get well." That managed to put the smile back on Lily's face.

* * *

Prime was suffering.

His arms ached from being suspended into the air by the restraints—technically his whole body ached from being ill. His breathing was hitchy and shaky, the Energon sludge stuck in his airways rattling. His optics were teary, and his vents were on the verge of running like a river. His cheek plates were flushed and his helm throbbed. He didn't want to do this any longer.

"You look like you are in pain, Prime," said the Vehicon holding the feather. "Are you ready to give us what we wish?"

Optimus couldn't say a word or else he'd start uncontrollably hitching again from the irritation just sitting at the edge of his vents. He couldn't handle any more of it, not after being unable to relieve himself for the past half hour. Multiple times he felt like he would pop and feel better, but then it would shrink away back inside of him. If it were to hit him now, he could probably blow the door down like he did back at base. And maybe the Vehicons along with it…

That was when a plan hatched in his head.

"Fine, then. We can tell you cannot endure of this much longer. Unless you want our little session to continue—!"

"You're right…"

"Eh?"

Optimus wearily raised his head, dull, watery optics staring at them. "I cad't…go through it buch bore…I've already t-told you…what Begatrod wishes to dow…yet you codtidue…" He wearily glanced down and noticed the feather ever so lightly grazing the edge of his vents.

Perfect.

"H-However…" he continued with a heavy sniff, "it…wod't batter adyway…"

"What are you blathering on about?" scowled another Vehicon.

Optimus sniffled again, wincing at the familiar, itchy feeling starting to grow. He never thought he would reach for this kind of goal, but it was his only way to escape. "I-I bead…you have beed teasig be for so log…I cad't…hold…" He forcefully hitched, causing one Vehicon to take a step back. After a moment he regained control and settled.

"Y-You are all so worried about…getting codtabidated," he continued, "but…you dod't deed to bake codtact with the ailig persod id order to catch their illdess."

"What?" said the three Vehicons.

"You cad be at least id the sabe roob with theb. That is h—_huh_…how this kide of virus works…" Optimus tightened and loosened his fists as the irritation steadily grew and fell.

"You are lying!" exclaimed the Vehicon with the feather, unaware it was sliding a little bit more deeper and deeper into the Prime's vents. But the Cons didn't know this was what Optimus wanted to happen.

"S-S-So f—_fuh_...for all you dow…you c-could a—_ah_…already be cod—codtabi…_cuh_…codtabi…dated…" Knowing the uneasy Vehicons won't dare come near him, and having no intentions of holding anything back—if he could—he allowed his body to do the work and he slowly started hitching, violently.

"He's going to—!"

"We can't be contaminated!"

"We have to get out of here!"

At that instant, as Optimus became more and more unstable, the three Vehicons fled the room for cover. After an eternal moment…

"_**YAAAAAAIII—IIITTCH'OOOOOOOOOOOOWWWW!" **_

The door was blown down.

Optimus panted, spitting Energon sludge from his mouth. The irritation was partially gone, but some lingered. The force of the sneeze also knocked his restraints loose. He weakly pulled and broke free from the left restraint. The weight caused the right one to snap, and he fell to the floor. His legs were too weak to support him and he face planted.

"Ow…"

Slowly and wobbly, he got to his feet and dizzily walked out of the room into the hall, holding it for support. He was now free from the interrogation torture room.

Now he needed to get free from the ship.


End file.
